The End?
by OtonielFernandez
Summary: Theres trouble with the trio. Will they be able to work it out? **FINAL CHAPTER UP**
1. The End?

A/N All right people, this is now my second effort for a fic. Again, please be kind, I'm really shy about writing lol. There have been numerous people in my life continually encouraging me to write, so that you all (Raye!!! hehe) and I hope you all enjoy.  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Big wolf, I'm just borrowing so relax.  
  
  
  
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The End?  
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Tommy felt triumphant over the defeat of the Mertonator. The gang felt proud of them selves after defeating an overly persistent cyborg and decided to go to the Hungry Bucket to celebrate. Once they ordered their food, Tommy noticed that both Lori and Merton were acting a bit downcast.  
  
"Guys, what's wrong? We just defeated an impossible enemy, shouldn't we be all hyper and happy?" Tommy asked his miserable friends. Neither Lori or Merton answered him, and to be honest Tommy was getting worried.  
  
"I don't know Tommy, somehow the events of today have culminated towards a very depressing realization." Merton finally said, being careful not to look at Tommy. Before Tommy even had a chance to begin to understand what Merton meant Lori piped in,  
  
"Yea I mean, no offence but I though what we had was a permanent thing, I'm not looking forward to ending what we have."  
  
Tommy had no idea what his friends were talking about, what was ending?   
  
"Guys, what are you talking about? What's ending?" Tommy asked his depressed friends, and was stunned at their reactions. Merton suddenly looked up at him with intense anger in his eyes, and for the life of him, Tommy could not figure out where his best friend's anger was coming from.  
  
"Tommy! Don't you ever listen? What do you mean what's ending? Bah!" Merton yelled as he got up and walked away from the table. "I thought we were best friends, I guess that doesn't hold much meaning or you." Merton called back over his shoulders before taking off at a quick run towards his hearse.   
  
Tommy had never seen Merton display so much anger before, specially towards him (not counting of course when he was a vampire and a werewolf, he couldn't help it then, he was evil). This was a side of Merton Tommy definitely did not want to see more often. Sure, Tommy always encouraged him to stand up for himself, but He had never given Merton any cause to be so angry with him. Tommy turned to Lori and again, was surprised at the barely conserved rage he was in her eyes. What could he have done to anger his friends so?  
  
"Lori, what is wrong with you two tonight? You both look like you want to kill me." Tommy pleaded with Lori, but again, he ran into a brick wall.  
  
"How can you sit there and not know what is the problem Tommy. I swear, sometimes you can be so dense. I guess that explains alot." Lori said and like Merton, got up and left Tommy by himself. This was a night to remember to say the least.  
  
Tommy VO  
  
What could I have done? What are they talking about?! What did I do? I'm going to have to try to get things in order soon.  
  
  
  
  
Tommy went home that night downcast. Not only were his friends upset with him, but also after the whole scene at the Bucket he couldn't eat what he ordered. Tommy was lost, not knowing what to do now. At times like these he would go to Merton and let him figure out what to do. But since Merton was angry with him he couldn't do that. To go to Lori would be like signing his death warrant so he couldn't go there either. So Tommy turned to the only source he still had.  
  
"Hey Dean, can I talk to you for a sec?" Tommy asked his couch potato brother.  
  
"Little bro, cant you see I'm in the middle of an I love Lucy Marathon. They just got a job at a candy factory and are messing up again." Dean looked back at the TV and laughed at Lucy's predicament "hehe, Lucy, you always have a hair brained scheme."  
  
Tommy stood his ground, Dean could be difficult to handle especially when he was watching TV but when Tommy needed Dean, and his big brother always came through.  
  
Three minutes later a commercial came on and Dean turned to Tommy.  
  
"Ok lil bro, what's the problem?" Dean asked Tommy. Keeping one eye glued to the TV set.  
  
Tommy took a deep breath and started his recount.  
  
"Well Dean, me, Merton and Lori were at the factory tonight, and for no reason that I could see they both went off the deep end. They are angry with me, and I don't know why! Merton told me that I wasn't a good best friend and Lori told me I was dense. Got any advice?" Tommy asked his big brother.  
  
Dean took a deep breath and eyes Tommy up and down. He sat up a bit on the Lazy-boy and motioned to Tommy to take a seat on the couch.  
  
"Did you say anything out of the ordinary?" Dean asked Tommy. Tommy took a second to think and the shook his head. "Did you ditch them for like a few minutes?" again, Tommy said no. "Well, did you gloat after winning a game of bowling?" Tommy chuckled to himself, the last thing they did was play a game of bowling, tough Tommy did pull off a great strike with the body of the borg.  
  
"No Dean, I can't think of a thing that would make Merton or Lori be so mad at me all of a sudden." Tommy said, a bit on the down side.  
  
"Lil bro, you must have said or done something to upset them. They are your friends and I have always known them to be there for you. They can't all of a sudden decide that they are mad at you. Talk to them, maybe they will tell you what you did if you ask them nice enough." Dean said, but at that moment his show came back on. Dean lost all interest in what he and Tommy were talking about, the TV had his undivided attention again.  
  
"You know Dean you're rig..." Tommy began, but Dean put a stop to him mid sentence, "lil Bro, come on! The shows back on, pipe down and watch or go on your way!"   
  
Tommy chuckled and went up to his room, giving Dean a quick pat on the back for good measure. Once Tommy got to his room, he decided to think about what had happened the last few days that could merit his friends attitudes.  
  
Tommy VO.  
  
Well I posed for the calendar, but that couldn't be it, I don't know why would both Merton and Lori would be mad at me over that. I asked them to give me a private moment with my look alike borg, but they poked fun at me for that so that couldn't be it. Let's see, Oh! I ordered for them when we got to the Hungry Bucket! Wait no, I've done that before and they were ok with that. I don't get it!  
  
Suddenly Tommy was frustrated and angry with his friends. He could not see what he had done wrong, and how dare they take something out on him without an explanation?! That's it, I'm not going to worry about it anymore, when they want to they will tell me what was wrong, and besides they couldn't stay angry at him forever, could they?  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
Two weeks passed and still, both Merton and Lori were still not speaking to him. Every time Tommy ran into either of them at school, they wouldn't even look at him and took great measures to avoid him. At lunch, Merton would get his food and sit with Lori in the far end of the Cafeteria, it took Tommy almost a week to spot them, and once he did, they moved again. When Tommy would go see Lori, Lori would give him an angry look and walk past him as if he wasn't even there  
  
Tommy was getting really sick of the silent treatment, and decided to wait for Merton by his car after school. Merton showed up at around four o'clock looking slightly depressed. Tommy guessed that the Gothic Fantasy Guild wasn't going very smoothly. He felt sorry for his friend, but at the moment there were more pressing things he wished to discuss with Merton.  
  
Merton got to his car and finally noticed Tommy leaning on it. To Tommy's displeasure he noticed that the moment Merton saw him, his eyes got that glassy angry look again.  
  
"What do you want Tommy? I don't have time to hang around here tonight, I have some research I need to get done." Merton asked Tommy, his voice like ice. Tommy had second doubts about talking to Merton once he heard the anger in his voice, but he couldn't really spent the rest of his life without his best friend. Who would look out for him and his wolfy problem?  
  
"Merton, I wanna know what's got you and Lori all worked up. It's been over two weeks since you guys have said a word to me, and I wanna know why? Its not like you guys to act like this." Tommy told Merton, half expecting to see him blow up again. To Tommy's surprise, Merton's eyes softened and his face took on that look he always got when he was sorry he had done something.  
  
"Oh Tommy, look, if you don't know what's got me and Lori upset, you should be asking yourself what kind of friend you are. I mean, Lori and I always look out for you, we are always aware when you are upset or hurt or whatever." Merton said. Tommy thought that he was finally going to be forgiven, but suddenly Merton took on that angry look and his body went noticeably tense. "If you cant show us the same consideration Tommy, what is the point on going on with this sham. It's obvious you don't really care what's got us upset if you are standing here trying to figure it out. Now can you please move so I can get home to my research" Merton said with his icy voice.  
  
Tommy did not know what to do, he thought he was getting somewhere with this conversation, but what now? He watched as Merton pulled out of the parking lot and went home. Totally depressed, Tommy set about going for a short walk perhaps to the park to do some thinking.   
  
Tommy VO.  
  
Wow, Merton hates me. I never thought Id see the day. He's acting like I did something so terrible. What could I have done?  
  
Ten minutes later Tommy got to the park, he sat on a bench and looked at the stars. Memories were coming to him. He remembered all the talks he had had with his friends in this park, and all the monsters they fought together here. What could he have done to ruin all of that?   
  
Suddenly he needed to talk to Lori. He wanted to find out all he could about what was happening. Tommy knew that Lori would not be any more willing to talk to him than Merton was, but if he was going to get anywhere he needed to talk to them and get to the bottom of all this.  
  
Tommy wolfed out and ran all the way to Lori's house.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N Here's the first chapter, I hope you all enjoy, I am not sure how long this story will be, but I will try to make is exiting. I'm counting on encouragement from all of you, so please R&R. Feel free to email me any suggestions you may have or just to shout out. I don't bite (much). 


	2. The End? - Part Deux

A/N Ok here's the second chapter, thank you all for the great and touching reviews, so in essence this chapter is dedicated to all of you. Again, feel free to email me or Message me with suggestions or comments, Id love to read what you all think.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing Big wolf, just my over active imagination, so there ha ;p  
  
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The End? - Part Deux  
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It took Tommy about ten minutes to reach Lori's house. He felt anxious about the coming confrontation and thus prolonged the inevitable. Once he mustered enough nerve he went up to Lori's front door and knocked. Tommy waited about five minutes and still no one had answered the door, so he figured that no one was home, but then where was Lori?  
  
On a burst of inspiration, Tommy took off to The Factory, he figured that would be as good a place as any to find her, and the silence that his friends were subjecting him to was unbearable. Tommy was desperate to resolve whatever this problem was.  
  
He reached The Factory and went inside. He looked around the tables and booths but there was no sign of Lori, so he concentrated in the mass of bodies that was crowding the dance floor. It was hard for Tommy to try to distinguish in this dark light one person from the other but he eventually decided that Lori was not in The Factory.   
  
Downcast and dejected he decided to go home after all. He was getting no where looking for his friends and the stress he was under was too much. Tommy turned to leave, and was shocked to see that Merton had just walked in.  
  
"Merton!" Tommy yelled to get his friends attention, and was successful. Tommy felt a sudden spark of hope, he figured that Merton was looking for him, maybe now they might be able to talk. However, when Merton saw Tommy he quickly turned around and walked out of The Factory.   
  
"Merton!" Tommy screamed in frustration and set to get to his best friend. Unfortunately, The Factory was too crowded this night, and Tommy found it difficult to get to the exit. By the time he made it outside the building there was no trace of Merton anywhere.  
  
"This is getting ridiculous!!!" Tommy murmured as his hopes were again crushed. It took him a while, but Tommy was beginning to really miss Merton and Lori. Frustration wearing down on him, he needed to run to get his mind off things.  
  
Tommy found a secluded area near the park and wolfed out taking off into the woods. Running always helped Tommy with his mental anguish, there were things that he could never discus with his friends, and running always offered the much-needed time to think and release.  
  
Tonight this was not the case. Tommy decided to stop at the cemetery, a good, private place to come and think. He took a walk through the grounds, lost in thought, so much in fact that at first he didn't even register the sound of conversation.  
  
When he did notice, Tommy prepared for a fight. There were always villains in the cemetery and a good fight might just help him deal with his stress. Tommy looked around a huge oak tree, not expecting what he saw.  
  
There in front of Tommy, were Lori and Merton. They were sitting on top of two tombstones having a little chat. He decided to stay a while and see what this was about. Tommy felt a little guilty at eavesdropping on them, but at least this way he might get some insight into the situation.  
  
"So, where do we go from here then?" Merton asked Lori. Tommy was stunned to see that Merton's eyes were a little red and puffy, as if he had been crying, but what totally took his breath away was the way Lori sounded.  
  
"Merton, this doesn't have to change anything." Lori replied with a whisper. Her voice sounded like sand had been sprinkled on her vocal chords. Raspy and uneven. She sniffed loudly once and went on. "All that has changed is that now, we won't have a wolf to fight with us. We can still protect Pleasantville against all the evil that's here, but we will have to do it ourselves."  
  
"Lori, get real!" Merton replied, rather hotly. "What chance do we stand without Tommy? We can't overlook that his power as a wolf was the key element that enabled us to best every single foe that came our way."  
  
"Merton, reality check.. I can fight too. With your knowledge of the supernatural and my ability we can do this on our own." Lori spat at Merton. "I mean come on, there is no reason that we couldn't continue fighting without Tommy, he obviously wants it that way"  
  
Tommy VO.  
  
Huh? I do? Where did this come from?  
  
Merton looked stricken by that last remark, but managed to mask it, barely. Taking a deep breath he plainly stated "I won't do it Lori. I'm sorry, I really am, but I am not going to risk my life every day like that. Before I had Tommy, if anything happened, Tommy was always there to protect me. Granted he would always protect you first, but I digress. Fighting with Tommy I had a sense of security, the wolf would always come through for me, without that I don't think that I want to be involved. I'm sorry"   
  
Merton got off the tombstone he was sitting and walked away from Lori. As soon as Merton was gone Lori seem to lose it.  
  
"Perfect!" she shouted and kicked the nearest Tombstone. Tommy decided that this was the time to try to talk to her and see what this was all about. Tommy stepped out from behind the tree and looked at Lori.  
  
"What is going on Lori? What's with the sudden change?"   
  
Startled, Lori turned around and assumed a fighting stance. She recognized Tommy and relaxes about a hair, but she did drop the stance. Looking like she might eat him alive she walked up to him.  
  
"What do you want Dawkins? I have nothing to say to you, and I don't feel I have to explain myself to you. You're wasting your time, go away and stay away." Lori practically backed him up into the tree he had used as his hiding place.  
  
Tommy VO.   
  
That's it! I have HAD IT!  
  
"What is wrong with you? Geez what did I do that is so wrong that you two now hate me? Tell me Lori, cause I sure as hell would love to know." Tommy screamed in Lori's face.  
  
Lori was momentarily taken aback by Tommy's sudden burst of emotion, but she recovered quickly and curtly answered him.  
  
"What's wrong with me? Don't even come at me like that Tommy, if you don't know what's wrong that's your problem not mine. I thought we were a team, but apparently we won't be. That's enough for me. Go do your own thing Tommy, cause I don't feel like being walked on." With that Lori ran away from Tommy.  
  
On the verge of a nervous break down, Tommy attacked everything around him. Tombstones were kicked and punched, trees were almost uprooted and screams filled the night. When he finally exhausted himself he decided to go home and forget this night.  
  
When he got to the edge of the cemetery he heard a footstep behind him. Thinking it was either Lori or Merton he did not turn around.  
  
"What do you want now?" Tommy asked the figure behind him.  
  
"Poor Tommy, here all alone. What a shame." A deep and familiar voice said behind him. He slowly turned around and looked at the intruder. His eyes widened and he took a step back, tripping over a rock in the process.  
  
The figure walked further out into the open and stared at Tommy, with a look of total indifference. The man got within ten feet of Tommy and asked, "Miss me?"  
  
Tommy's paralysis broke then, he stood up and aced the man with a look of total hatred. He could not believe it, but he couldn't deny it, he was standing right there.  
  
"You!" Tommy said, looking every which way for a means of escape.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N There you have it, that's the second chapter of this little series. What did you all think? All comments are appreciated guys, so open up to me hehe. 


	3. The End? - Part 3

A/N Ok here's the third installment. I hope you guys like it. Remember that I always appreciate the feed back, so don't be shy. I'm looking for inspiration, so the next chapter might be a while in coming, but I promise that it will come out.   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything BWOC, I wish I did, hehe, do I ever.   
  
  
  
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The End - part 3  
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The room was highlighted by the candle glow all around. Merton sat at his desk and blankly stared into his computer screen. The Goth's mind was consumed in thoughts of his best friend. Merton missed Tommy a great deal, and it had been hard for him these three weeks to live once again as a loner. Sure, Lori tried to provide much needed company, but with Merton's refusal to continue fighting, she grew more and more distant and neglectful of their friendship.  
  
Lori had found a boyfriend in her latest kickboxing tournament, and was spending alot of time with him, leaving Merton to his morbid thoughts of solitude. Merton hadn't even been completely honest with Lori, he did want to continue fighting, but he could not get over that there would be no salvation if things went wrong. Tommy always saved him no matter what, and lets face it, Lori wasn't exactly mindful of Merton's safety. She was more interested in fighting.  
  
So Merton made the call that once again landed him in solitude. Three weeks and Merton still could not bare the sorrow that enveloped him at losing his best friend.   
  
There was a knock on the door, which surprised Merton. There was no one left in this world that would bother to come to the Lair, and Becky seldom came down to the Lair.   
  
"Come in." Merton said, turning around to find a means of defense in case the situation turned dire.  
  
Once he turned around, he was surprised to see Lori standing by the door. She closed the door and sat on Merton's bed. Suspicious, Merton eyes Lori seeking any signs of foul play.  
  
"This is certainly a surprise. What are you doing here?" He asked Lori. She suddenly got up very violently and stalked towards Merton, sending the poor boy into a state of panic.  
  
"Dud it ever occur to you Merton, that I might think of you as a dear friend. Fighting or not, I cant turn my back on someone I care about, I'm not Tommy." Lori spat at Merton, perhaps with a little more emotion that she intended because she was instantly apologetic. "I'm sorry Merton, I didn't mean to spaz at you. This whole situation has got me all frazzled and I am afraid I'm not coping very well with it."  
  
Merton found it hard to deal with the tumult of emotion coming from Lori. He wasn't sure what the appropriate thing to do would be, so he chose to just say nothing and pretend her outburst had not happened. Still, he was grateful that she was thoughtful enough to come see him, it really did touch him.  
  
"Lori, I know that the last three weeks haven't been the best, I can sympathize, Tommy was the first, only and best friend I ever had. I miss him too. We can not, however let this thing that's happening get to us." Merton assured Lori. He knew she was having second doubts about Tommy, to be frank so did he but that did not change things. "Tommy will be fine, it's been over a week since I've seen him, he must be adapting well."  
  
"Merton that's the thing, I don't know about any of this. Once Tommy transferred out of all our classes, it made it so much more final. I'm thinking maybe we should have in the least, given him a chance to make a difference. We did jump the gun without giving him much of a chance to at least attempt to make a difference." Lori said, with a fresh wave of emotion that made Merton completely uncomfortable.   
  
Merton thought about what Lori had told him, but something was bothering him. Something in her last statement had touched a nerve with Merton, and if nothing else, Merton's intuition was nothing to mess with.  
  
"Lori, you said that Tommy transferred out of all our classes, right? How did you find this out? I mean, I don't think Tommy would go as far as that just because we were mad at him. I mean, you know how hard he tried to make peace with out after we stopped talking to him." Merton told Lori expecting her to be a little more concerned than she appeared.  
  
"I don't know Merton, I just assumed is all. Its not that uncommon to transfer out of a class for whatever reason." Lori stated with a very exasperated tone.  
  
"Something's not right, I can conceive of Tommy transferring out of our classes, but we haven't even seen him at lunch, and I haven't seen him at his locker. I'm calling him just to make sure he's ok." Merton picked up the phone and dialed the number to the Dawkins household. It was a while before anyone picked up, and when it was the voice sounded annoyed.  
  
"Hello, Dawkins residence, this had better be good, I was in the middle of Charmed, and they are on the verge of destroying the source." Dean practically yelled into the phone.  
  
"Hi Dean, this is Merton Dingle, is Tommy around, Id like to ask him something." Merton, being used to Dean's hissy fits answered the annoyed man.  
  
"Tommy? What are you talking about, he has been in the hospital for the last week." Dean replied, evident to his annoyance at being disturbed growing.  
  
"WHAT?! What happened?" A very panicked Merton screamed into the phone.  
  
"I don't know Merton, he was found in the cemetery all cut up. He was in really bad shape, so he was taken to the hospital, I thought you knew. Now, I am not about to miss this epic moment, so thank you for calling but I have to go." And with that, Dean hung up  
  
Merton started to pace back and forth. His panic obvious to Lori. Merton was making incoherent noises and Lori began to get worried over her friend's behavior.  
  
"Merton! What is the matter with you?" Lori asked the frightened Goth, taking hold of his shoulders to keep him stationary.  
  
"Lori..."Merton said in an extremely frightened voice, "Tommy is in the hospital. He was brought there about a week ago and he was in bad shape." Merton plainly stated to Lori.   
  
"Let's go!" was the only reply from Lori  
  
  
  
A/N slightly shorter, but trust me, this is leading up to something hehe 


	4. The End? - Final Chapter

A/N Ok here's the next chapter in my little saga. I hope you guys enjoy, keep those good reviews coming lol.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything BWOC unfortunately.  
  
  
  
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The End - Part 4  
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The sterilized smell of the hospital room was driving Tommy off the wall. This was too much for Tommy, and he did not quite know what to do. The battle obviously took alot out of him, seeing as he could not remember the battle or how he ended up in the hospital. However the aches and pains he was suffering were clear enough to let him know that he took quite a beating.  
  
It had been a week since he came here. It hurt Tommy deeply to know that his two friends had not been in once. Tommy figured he must have done something horrible to ruin what they had, but he was tired of trying to figure it out. It was obvious that his friends were never going to talk to him again, and that somehow it was all his fault. It was a mistake he was going to have to live with and regret forever.  
  
The doctors told him that he would be fine before too long. Though in a leg cast, Tommy would recover nicely and would be able to play football once again. All was not lost then, and Tommy was relieved. He wondered how life without Merton and Lori would be.  
  
There were a number of facts that made it harder on Tommy at this point, without Merton, Tommy would have to learn all about the lunar cycles. Merton was always on the up on that stuff, and lets not forget that from now on when he fights he's going to have to do alot of background research so he'd have to get good at that as well. Merton was his well of supernatural information and now the well dried up so he was going to have to do all he could to ensure that he could always defeat the baddies that showed up.  
  
Without Lori he was going to have to fight alone. Hopefully the monsters that attacked Pleasantville were not too tough to handle one on one. Lori always provided the much needed back up. Tommy figured that if he could take a couple of martial arts classes he would hone up his skills and would be able to do better alone.  
  
On the other hand, as bad as it sounded, Tommy would be able to fight in peace. No longer would he have to worry about Merton getting hurt or Lori being at the clutches of the current villain. No longer would his feelings for his friends get in the way of how well he fought. Pleasantville would now rest just a little bit easier when it came to evil.  
  
Tommy VO.  
  
Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I will never make it without Merton's knowledge and Lori's spirit. I'm never going to be smart enough to do all the research Merton does, or be clear minded enough to tackle a situation head on. What am I going to do?  
  
His spirits being dampened, Tommy looked out the window and watched life go on outside this prison. Everything had changed, and Tommy could see no way to make it any better. The two most single important people in his life were gone, and he could not figure out how to get them back. In all honesty, Tommy wasn't even sure if he wanted them back. But that's not exactly true is it? Tommy would love to have them back, but he did not know if he had what it took to make them see that whatever they were mad about could be resolved.  
  
At that moment, Tommy's nurse and doctor walked in. Tommy was tired of being asked how he felt and being poked and prodded so he decided to ignore them, and hopefully they would take the hint and go away.  
  
It became apparent after a few minutes that the medical team would not be going away. They just stood there and stared at Tommy without saying a word. This was making Tommy uncomfortable, and he figured that it would be better to tell the to buzz off than to have them standing there gawking at him.  
  
"Look, no offence but I don't feel like being examined right now. I would appreciate it if you could just go and come back at medication time." Tommy told the staff with just a hint of contempt.  
  
The doctor looked at the nurse, and Tommy saw the flick of fear in the man's eyes. Instantly Tommy was on guard. Had he wolfed out at any point? Did they take blood samples against his wishes? What do they know? Why is this man showing fear? Then, much to Tommy's surprise the nurse punched the doctor. Something was definitely not right here.  
  
The nurse came closer to an obviously stricken Tommy.  
  
"We just found out you were here and came right over. Why didn't you tell us you jerk!?" the nurse spazzed at Tommy.  
  
LORI!! Tommy recognized the voice right away. Lori had come to see him, then not all was lost. But who was the doctor?  
  
"Damm it Lori, would it kill you to be just a tad bit nicer to me?" The doctor said and went over to Tommy. "And you, you should have told me you were hurt. This hospital has a hone you know."  
  
Tommy smiled. His friends were finally here and they were talking to him. Tommy could not help but to feel good that his friends came as soon as they heard he was hurt. That meant something, didn't it?  
  
"I am like so glad to see you guys. It has been hell for me these last three weeks. Listen, I apologize for anything I did, I don't want to lose you guys and you know, where would the team be without the gang together." Tommy said to his friends. It surprised Tommy how relieved he was to have them both here. In any case, there were still a couple of things to put in order.  
  
"Why the get up?" Tommy asked the uncomfortable duo, referring to the medical garments.  
  
"Well Tommy, its pretty late, and visiting hours were over, so we had to *finger quotes* borrow some appropriate attire to come see you." Merton told him.  
  
"When do you get out? There are a few things to talk about, but I would feel better if you would be recovered and out of here." was all Lori asked.  
  
"The doctors said I should be out in about a week, if there are no complications. There's even a chance I could get out a bit earlier, but I think they will keep me in till that week is up." Tommy replied.  
  
"Well Tommy, come to the lair when you get out and we can talk about all this then." Merton said.  
  
"Ok."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Merton and Lori were sitting at the lair waiting for Tommy to arrive. It had been a week, and it was about time that they made peace with Tommy. They had a week to think everything through, and were ready to let Tommy know that they were still his friends no matter what. It had been really selfish of them to treat Tommy the way they did and were ready to apologize for it.  
  
When Tommy finally showed up, he came in to the lair not knowing what to expect. He saw that Merton was sitting at his desk, looking just a tad paler than Tommy remembered, and Lori was pacing around looking rather restless. Tommy hoped that this would not be a repeat of what had happened before.  
  
"Guys, I'm here, How do we go about this?" Tommy asked the nervous duo.  
  
Merton got up from his chair as soon as he noticed Tommy. Tommy noticed that he looked a bit reluctant, and was instantly worried about his friend. Tommy did not like that his friend was going through so much at the count of him. Being as patient as he could, Tommy waited for one of them to speak.  
  
"Tommy, please sit down. Lori and I want to say something to you and its not easy for either of us. So please let us finish before you say anything." Merton told Tommy, and that escalated Tommy's stress level. Tommy wasn't sure if he was prepared for what was coming.  
  
"First off, we want to apologize to you for the way we acted. We had no right going all psycho on you. What we should have done is to have given you a chance and talked to you about what was bothering us. We messed up and we know it. So we're sorry." Lori told a befuddled Tommy. The last thing Tommy expected was for them to apologize to him.  
  
"Yea, and you know, we realized that we could never drop you as a friend no matter what happens. I know that for me, you have always been a great friend, and you have been a great force of support throughout my darkest times. As for Lori, you have always encouraged her to do her best, and though it hasn't always been smooth, you have stuck by us no matter what. We should have done the same, we failed you as friends." Merton choked up at this point, and pleadingly looked at Lori to continue on. For his part, Tommy was not sure what to say to what they had told him, he was literally dumbstruck by what was going on.  
  
"So, it really doesn't matter that in the future you drop us and go off on your own. We have now, and in the future we will have our memories of now and I guess that's fine enough." Lori told him and just waited for Tommy to say something.  
  
Now Tommy realized what had them upset. But what could have given them the idea that he would drop them?  
  
"Guys, though I'm not completely sure what to say, I do know one thing for certain. I will never drop you guys. You are like the most important people in my life, who gave you he idea that I would drop you just like that?" Tommy asked them  
  
Merton was visibly shaken by Tommy's words. He was confused and lost in the concept. He looked towards Tommy and asked, "What do you mean? You remember the your cyborg buddy? The one that looked like you?" Tommy nodded and Merton went on "Well, he said that there was no mention of us in the future, that you worked alone. I know that I would never willingly abandon you, and Lori is too feisty to ever give up fighting by your side so we figured you were the one who dropped us." Merton was Torn between believing Tommy, and the information that he received from the Tommy Borg.  
  
"Look, I don't know what happens in the future, but I do know that I would never EVER give you guys up. We have been through too much to just turn my back on you." Tommy told his friends, slightly annoyed that they would get mad at him for something that hasn't happened yet.  
  
"Well, that's good to know then," Lori said, "but what happens then? Why are we not together in the future?"   
  
"Lori, lets just live one day at a time and see where life takes us. Who knows, hasn't Merton said enough times that the future can always be changed? There is no certain path to follow. Someday we will have these answers, but lets not rush it." Tommy told his friends, and though it took some time things finally went back to normal. They were the greatest friends ever, and Tommy was right about one thing, the future is not set in stone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
An anonymous building, the year 2047  
  
An old man is standing by a window of a house staring out towards the scenery. He is wearing a nostalgic expression while looking out towards the town square. He reminisces of the past and friends gained and lost. Being as old as he is, he doesn't get to fight anymore, and his days are filled with boring outing after boring outings.  
  
The old man need not worry too much though. He is lucky that at his age, he has two faithful companions that are always by his side. He is never lonely.  
  
The door opens and an old lay and a thin old guy with spiky hair come inside the room. The old man looks at them and they beckoning him to join them. They were going on a picnic. While not exciting, life was still good.  
  
  
  
  
A/N Well that's it, the story is over. Or is it? Hehe only time will tell. Thanks for reading, and I hope I haven't let anyone down. I will attempt to write more fic's, but I need the encouragement and inspiration, so keep the R&Rs coming ;P 


	5. adendum (whatever i cant spell hehe)

A/N   
  
ok just thought Id recap on something really quick. Alot of you may be wondering what happened with the fight scene between Tommy and the stranger. I know who the stranger was, and if needed I can write an additional chapter explaining everyting, however, I though it best to let the readers sort of fill in his/her blanks. Its really up to you who beat up Tommy and how, again, I can easily write an additional chapter outlining everything.  
  
  
Toodles 


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